The invention is generally directed to potted plants. The invention is more specifically directed to a system for supporting an indoor potted plant, for continuously supplying fresh water to the soil and root structure of the plant, for continuously draining away old water, and for supplying uniform lighting and ventilation to the plant.
Potted plants are routinely found in indoor environments such as the home or office. The plants are used to decorate the indoor environment and to provide a natural ambiance.
A plant-decorated home or office will typically have an average of at least one plant per room but it is also common to find indoor environments having a plurality of potted plants in each room.
Potted plants come in a wide variety of sizes, types and shapes ranging from small ones (e.g., Indian cress) to large leafy ones (e.g., ferns, golden pathos, spider plant, philodendron, wandering jew, chlorophytum) and even to miniature indoor trees. The size of the pot can range from just a few inches in diameter and height to a few feet in one or both dimensions.
The plant can have a branch and leaf structure that spreads out to dimensions much larger than that of its holding pot, thereby making the combination of plant and pot rather large and bulky.
The larger sized combinations of plant, wet soil and pot can weigh as much as 30 to 50 pounds, or 100 pounds, or even more.
The care of indoor plants, including routine watering, ventilation, and lighting, presents a problem, particularly where heavy and/or bulky combinations of plant, soil and pot are concerned.
Adequate watering and good drainage are important. Each plant should receive at least its minimum daily requirement (or other periodic requirement) of water and other nourishments (e.g., fertilizers, pesticides, etc.). However over watering to the point of saturating the soil should be avoided. The soil and root system of a potted plant are generally confined to the boundaries of the pot, and as such, it is advisable to make sure that the pot soil does not become saturated with standing water. Prolonged immersion of the plant root system in standing water can lead to root rot and other problems. The plant""s root system and the soil should be periodically irrigated with clean, fresh water and the older water should be drained away.
Good lighting and ventilation are also important. It is desirable to provide uniform lighting and ventilation to the plant leaf structure so that the plant develops symmetrically. Non-uniform lighting or ventilation can lead to asymmetric growth, which is aesthetically unpleasing.
The major reason for having indoor plants in the first place, is to aesthetically decorate the indoor environment. Accordingly, it is important to aesthetically integrate the potted plant and its support systems (irrigation, ventilation, lighting, positioning, etc.) with the surrounding indoor environment.
Aesthetic integration may present a problem, particularly where the larger-sized plants in the 10-to-50 pound and over dry-weight class are concerned. (The 10-50 pound-plus dry weight class is defined here as any combination of plant, dry soil and pot that weighs approximately 10 pounds or more. A nominal range is approximately 30 to 50 pounds dry weight, but larger dry weights are also contemplated.) Such large-sized plants require a sturdy positioning means for positioning them at a desired position within a room. The large-sized plants tend to require greater quantities of daily watering and lighting than do smaller plants. It can become difficult to meet the physical needs of a large-size plant and to at the same time integrate the potted plant and its support systems (irrigation, ventilation, lighting, positioning, etc.) naturally and aesthetically with the surrounding indoor environment.
There have been numerous, but unfortunately partial, attempts to solve the problems discussed above.
The most common technique used for indoor plants is to place the pot on a drainage tray and to provide a drainage hole at the bottom of the pot through which excess water drains for collection by and storage in the drainage tray. The drainage tray is placed directly on the floor or on a sturdy table.
The drainage tray is generally the same width or slightly wider than the pot but much smaller in height. Hence, the water-storing volume of the drainage tray is substantially less than that of the pot; and there is a danger that the tray will flood over if too much water is poured into the pot. There is generally no separation between the pot and the tray to prevent old water from leaching back into the pot soil. Undesirable root rot can develop if a high level of standing water is left in the drainage tray for long periods of time. As a result of these dangers, users tend to under-water their plants rather than to risk over-flooding the drainage tray and ruining the floor or furniture or risk leaving too-high a level of standing water in the tray. As a result, plants do not always get sufficient water for healthy growth.
An example of the drainage tray approach is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,581, issued Apr. 26, 1988 to Jarvis and entitled FLOWER POT. Another example is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,147, issued Dec. 13, 1977 to Phillips and entitled HORTICULTURAL CONTAINER ASSEMBLY WITH SAUCER DRAINAGE AND VENTILATION PASSAGE.
Another approach is to hang the potted plant from an overhead support and provide means for periodic watering and drainage. One example of such an approach is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,149, issued Oct. 1, 1991 to Johnson and entitled PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR CAPTURING OVERFLOW FROM HANDING PLANTS. Another example is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,239, issued Nov. 5, 1991 to Helton and entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WATERING POTTED PLANTS. The overhead suspension approach is generally limited to combinations of plant, pot and soil in the low-weight class (less than 10 pounds dry weight).
There have been attempts to aesthetically integrate the drainage tray with the surrounding environment. One interesting approach is taken in U.S. Design Pat. No. 254,127, issued Feb. 5, 1980 to Sgroi and entitled COMBINED FLOWER POT TRAY, AND WATERING RESERVOIRS. An outer shell assembly combines with a bottom drainage tray to provide a decorative cover for a flower pot.
The above-mentioned previous approaches each make a stab at solving one or another of the problems associated with the care and enjoyment of indoor potted plants, but none provides an integrated solution for easily maintaining an indoor potted plant while aesthetically integrating the plant and its support systems (irrigation, ventilation, lighting, positioning, etc.) in a complementary fashion with indoor decor.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided a symmetrical and decorative apparatus that supports a potted plant and non-conspicuously houses a water drainage subsystem for the potted plant. Movement means are provided for non-conspicuously rotating the potted plant so that the plant receives uniform lighting and ventilation from all sides and for moving the plant to desired positions in a room. Valve and emptying means are provided so that any desired quantity of water may be passed through the root and soil system for purposes of nourishment or flushing out undesirable salts from the soil.